Friday, April 20, 2012

Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

So, Fat Club weigh-in is tomorrow and I've met my goal weight (according to the doctor's office scale I was on yesterday). To celebrate, I am getting my hair done. Now, a lot of you are probably thinking this is not such a treat; that getting your hair done is something you do every month or so. Well, not for me. I'm lucky if I allow myself to get my hair done every year or two. - By then it's usually so long, that I just have them chop it off and I donate it to Wigs For Kids. (If you're hair is long enough you should totally donate your hair! It's a worthy cause and it doesn't cost you anything.) I just get busy, and then we don't have the money. It's just not that high on my priority list (more like not even on my list). So, since I am now back down to my fighting weight (the weight that I was when I got married and the weight that I have diligently got back down to after each one of my angels were born) I am rewarding myself. It was hard work after all. 8 weeks of dieting, and learning that small portions, exersize and healthy swap outs are key. It's not fun losing weight, but it's also not fun when you can't fit into your clothes. (Clothes shopping is also something that I never do. I think the last time I shopped for myself it was for my 25th birthday. I again had got my weight down after a baby, and my old clothes - from highschool - were falling apart. . . . If I am "the biggest loser" in my club then I'll have a little extra money to play around with. Perhaps I will go shopping!) Sorry for the tangent.
Anyway, you're probably wondering, what does this have to do with food? This is a food blog after all. Well, I was on my walk/jog this morning and all I could think about was my hair cut this afternoon and food. So, what to make. . . . My loving husband says that he's getting kind of burnt out on sweets (is that even possible?) because he's been eating my share of all my goodies. - I'll eat one piece, or three in the case of my Crazy Good Cheesecake Blondies, but then I will drive the rest to my hubby's fire station so I won't be tempted anymore. - Will power can only work for so long. So, I'm thinking of something savory. . . . What to make. . . .
I saw this recipe on Pinterest for Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken. I looked at the ingredients and thought this was a good Pantry Meal (a meal I can make with only things from my pantry and freezer). No special trips into town required. It's definitely savory. So, this is what's for dinner tonight.

This is not the recipe I found, but it's similar enough that I didn't want to change the name. It's super simple. It comes together in just a couple minutes and is done in as little as 3 hours, or it can cook all day if you need it to. It's healthy (only about 3 or 4 points on Weight Watchers I guess - that's what the other recipe said) and it's gluten free if you opt not to serve it over rice.

Here's what I did:

I took a ziploc bag of chicken out of the freezer. This is 3 boneless skinless chicken halves (about 1.5 pounds). They are frozen rock solid - I just cut the bag off of them.

Then I added a can of this, with all it's juice.

And these two cans, drained.

Then I added some cumin, granulated garlic, and onion powder.

I also added some dry oregano, rubbed between my hands first.

And I added 1 tsp of Chicken bullion granules. (If you didn't want to add this, you could just add 1/2 tsp of salt, but the end product wouldn't be as chicken-y.)

After 3 hours I went to go stir the chicken, and I realized that I accidentally put the crock pot on high instead of low. So, I took the chicken out and it was done.

I shredded it with 2 forks.

Then I added the chicken back in with the sauce and veggies, and put the lid back on. I turned off the crock pot and we ate just a short while later. If you cooked it on low, I'm sure it would be fine cooking for 6-8 hours.

Put all the ingredients in the crock pot. Cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6-8 hours. Take chicken out and shredd. Add chicken back to the crock pot, turn off and keep the lid on until ready to serve. Serve over cooked rice (optional).

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About Me

I'm a mommy of 5 who loves to cook. My kids would often say that I should be a chef, and they would shout in unison "Chef Mommy!" - hense the name of my blog. But please do note, I am not a chef. I've never been classically trained. I learned how to cook by the apron strings of my dad and my love of food tv starting back as long as I can remember. I cook the kind of food I want to eat. Sometimes it's complex, but more often than not it is just simple and delicious. My recipes are more or less approximations because I cook by feel - not so much with measurements. As with anyone's recipes you should feel free to modify mine to suit your tastes. Don't take me too seriously, because I don't. Come along with me and I hope I can get you to love and appreciate my food as much as I do!